The atmosphere was slightly unsettling and a bit threatening, I did not feel like I was going to die here. So that was a nice thing. However, the slight touching around my neck area would not stop. Although the entire room turned dark. I kept hearing sounds around me, probably the Guildmaster. 

 

“Um, it‘s a tamed undead…” I lied through my teeth, although it was kind of true. 

“I did hear you had a tamed silver wolf. Considering I haven’t seen one in years, I guess I will believe you for now…” The tone of voice changed to a more feminine one. “So, what can I do for you?” She became rather friendly. 

 

“Em…” I attempted to relax. “Quest completion?” 

“I see…” Her voice was still mysterious and quiet, almost like whispers. I heard some fondling and felt a slight touch on my back, it made me shiver. “Weird... I cannot find anything on you. Not even your guild card, nor can I see your status for that matter...” … She is dangerous...

“... It’s here…” I held my guild card out in nervousness. 

 

All I heard was silence, not even the movement of anything. It kind of made me doubt if Ari and Jer were with me anymore. 

“... Alright then…” She took the card and after a few seconds I felt it in my hand. “The quest was marked as completed, I don’t really care about your clearance proof, I already saw plenty just now…”  Eh.

“What do you mean?” I asked with confusion. 

“You realized it, didn’t you?” Eh? “Not to bore you with the details. Since I already got everything I wanted I guess it’s fine. We are even, yes? You get your quest I get my information.” 

 

“I mean… I guess? I don’t quite understand what information you got…” I worded my confusion. 

“You didn’t even realize it…” She kind of sounded upset. “It’s the first time this happens! Tell me, do you have some type of blessing? To withstand it like that… Or it could it maybe be that you are higher level than me? I’ve heard a lot of things about you after all.” Eh… 

I have to think, she is being creepy and weird! Think… Oh yeah she did mention something. 

 

“We are even, yes? You got plenty of information already, I would like to assume the Guildmaster is just as trustworthy as the Capital’s Guildmaster…” 

“Tch fine, leave before I change my mind…” She went from being creepy to childish… 

“Um, how do I leave?” 

 

I asked with confusion. All I heard was a sigh and a finger snap. Suddenly the darkness cleared and I was in a room with a couch, I did not know what room it was. It had a desk and a lot of documents on it as well as bookshelves and even a map pinned on the wall. 

 

“Huh…” 

“That was weird…” I heard a mutter to my side, turning my head there was Ari. 

“That person was… dangerous…” Jer muttered from my other side. I guess we all had some type of weird experience with the Guildmaster. 

 

“Even the kid is unaffected. Interesting…” We the guildmaster’s ominous voice inside the room although we couldn’t really figure out where she was. “Leave before I change my mind.” 

 

The three of us just looked at each other and with a single nod, we stood up and left the room. 

 

All of us stood just outside the room on the second floor. Jer seemed a bit uneasy, thankfully the hallway was empty. So we had time to relax and think about what happened there. 

 

Without saying a single word we left the guild, we didn’t make any eye contact with any of the personnel nor the adventurers for that matter. Jer seemed a bit unstable as I saw his hands shaking, however, no one knew he was an undead yet. 

We stood just outside the guild when I felt a cold grip on my hand. “Can we go to an inn first?” Jer requested. I awkwardly nodded and so did Ari. We looked around the plaza and saw an inn, it was a three floor wooden installment. 

 

Opening the door a pleasant bell rang. 

“Welcome~” We heard a soft and gentle voice. “Room for three? How many nights?” Lifting my eyesight I was met with a nice woman/girl. She had unblemished skin and a nice smooth dark hair that didn’t go past her jaw. She was pretty and appearance wise she looked a bit older than me.  

 

“Um… How many nights?” She asked again in awkwardness as she tilted her head. I looked back at Jer and Ari. Ari thought for a second and lifted three of her fingers. 

 

“Three nights for now, please…” 

“Ah, yes. Three nights So, I assume you all want the most luxurious room?” Eh. “A warrior and two refined young ladies, I have a feeling you all really like quality.” She smirked. 

“B-But…” Did she just keep making assumptions? 

“No buts, I can tell by your hair, you like baths. Also, all of you look like successful adventurers.” Eh. “Well, all it takes is asking for a normal room, so don’t feel pressured. I haven’t had many clients lately so I’ve been bored. Trading has been slow since the king changed.” 

 

“You mean um… what was his name?” I made a brief pause to remember. “Gazel?”

“Yes, he implemented a lot of laws regarding trading because apparently he believes he has too many enemies, or something like that…” And now she was complaining about it. 

“I can sort of understand… But, why do you have to force a luxury room onto us?” I asked with curiosity. 

 

She scratched her cheek awkwardly. “Well, I thought your beauty would go to waste if you didn’t take a single bath in three days, we don’t have a public inn bath. Instead they are all private. Also, the only rooms that have room service are the third-floor ones.” That still made no sense… “I also um… thought you were really pretty…” Em… 

 

Was she flirting with me!? Also, don’t I look like a teenager at this point in time?! I am beyond confused…

 

“Do you have a special skill that makes people be attracted to you?” Ari whispered her question into my ear, which made me frantically shake my head. The receptionist had tears well up on her eyes, making me slightly panic. 

“Um… I will take that luxury room, but I don’t feel the same way about you…” 

“Very well, that would be one gold coin for three nights!” She cheerfully said without any feeling whatsoever. 

“Eh…”

“You got played…”

“Played indeed…” 

 

Ehhhh… I reluctantly walked to her and gave her the coin, she smiled and gave me a really pretty room key, it was golden and had some type of ceramic at the tip. 

 

“Third floor, you will know when you see it.” Eh… 

 

I reluctantly made my way upstairs without making any eye contact, I did not want anything to do with someone that played with my feelings like that just to do their job… that was… mean to say the least. I was feeling upset as we continued walking up stairs, after a bit we ended up on the third floor. It was noticeably different. 

 

As opposed to the previous floors this one had ceramic flooring, it was no comparison to the wood. There were two rooms.on the narrow hallway, they were perpendicular to one another. One had a blue handle and one a pink handle. I looked at our key for reference, the ceramic that it had at the tip was pink. As anyone would assume I walked to the door that had the same color and inserted the key.

 

Surprise, surprise. It clicked and effortlessly opened with the well-oiled hinges the door had. I couldn’t help but leave my mouth wide open. It had a living room with a nice glass table, it had a small kitchen with a stone oven and cabinets. It had a bathroom and a different room with beds. It was almost like a mini apartment. 

 

“You know… I felt betrayed when I paid the gold coin, but I don’t think I feel the same after seeing this…” I muttered my true thoughts. 

 

The only reply I was met with was silence. 

Ari and Jer took a seat on the living room couch, the room seemed to be made just for nobility. 

“Now it is time to talk about that Guildmaster.” Ari said with seriousness. 

“Yeah…” Jer was unusually quiet. 

“Um, I mean, she was weird, but what about her?” I muttered my confusion out-loud. 

 

Ari sighed. “She figured us out with a single spell, that’s the problem. While I am certain she does not know specifics, I am certain she at least knows we are out of the norm.” 

 

Jer finally sighed. “You know, I was happy to see how much the outside world had changed, but you know. It saddens me to see that, or rather. I also find it unsettling, that magic has been around for so long and yet it still exists. That woman tried to pry into our souls and see all of our secrets, thankfully we all had some type of protection…” 

 

“How so?” I asked paying a bit more attention to the topic. 

Jer continued. “In my case, she couldn’t do anything due to my level advantage. I assume it is the same for you. And as for little Ari, since she burns me every time I touch her I assume it has to do with that…” Ari slowly nodded. 

 

“And that is troublesome… Darkness magic I suppose…” Ari made her guess, Jer wordlessly nodded alongside her. 

 

I sighed. “I am sure Aizen would know about this, although I guess all we can do is stay away from the Guildmaster as much as we can…” My response was met with two nods. “And um, about the church? Can I get more information about this um, holy knight or whatever it was?” 

“Ah… I guess I should explain, but please promise me you will not fight one!” She desperately asked I nodded with a bit of confusion.

 

“You see, holy knights are well… Holy for a lack of a better word. They are sent by the leader and are armed with items that are said to hold divinity, or whatever. Their items tend to be treasures so there aren’t many of them. However, the church takes things very seriously. For example, according to the story of necromancy it is based on stealing divinity of life, which goes against the church’s principles.” I nodded hearing her sort of lengthy explanation. 

 

“So, basically. They are equipped with high grade items and they could even be in the Divine tier? And um… Since those type of items are rare there’s only so many of said knights, and also the church worships some type of divinity?” Ari nodded with a bit of confusion. 

“I mean, yeah. You picked it up way quicker than me, I thought it didn’t make sense when I first heard it…” 

 

“It doesn’t make sense… that’s religion…” I muttered 

“Anyway, they worship the strength of items or whatever power grants the items power for lack of a better word.”

“I see… So basically they worship the entirety of whatever the world runs on?” Ari nodded with slight confusion. 

“Well, yes. They worship the basis of the world…”  Huh. Well I guess wording it as if it was an operating system would be confusing for someone that does not know anything different to it. 

I sighed. “I don’t know what I expected, but I am sure Aizen could end one of those knights in a single second…” I sighed once again and left out an empty laugh recalling the tyranny of the stubborn dragon inside the game. 

 

“I don’t know what kind of existence this ‘Aizen’ is, but I feel like I don’t want to know…” Jer said with slight fear. 

“You don’t want to know…” Ari added to the fire. 

“Well, now we have all of our things sorted out. Kind of, so let us get to the important things.” Both of them looked at me with bewilderment as I grinned. “Time for a new armor of course.” Ari’s smile crooked, Jer didn’t seem to have any reaction then again, I could not see his face. 

“Hey, what kind of terrifying creature is this Aizen you both speak of?” Ari grinned. 

 

“Ferocious like an untamed beast, compacted in a small shape that can be as kind as an angel, it can be as ferocious as the king of dragons himself. Total control to fire and almost as if it had a passive body armor that can sustain injuries without problem~” Ari sang praises, as Jer petrified more and more. 

“Um… Will it eat me alive?” 

“Maybe~” Ari grinned and then laughed. “I can see how she gets fun now.” 

“Now, now, don’t scare him off. He is a talking undead, he won’t become a chewing toy!” I decided to slightly play along, Jer basically turned into a statue of a knight rather than something that looked like a “living” being. 

 

“Well, let us go to explore the town. Just let us not go near the um, rather weird Guildmaster!” 

 

Ari nodded and Jer did a weak nod almost unnoticeable. I guess he was left thinking, did he have some type of PTSD from his wars or something? Well, that just made him more interesting. Although I feel like if he did have something like that, triggering it would literally make me the worst person on this planet… 

 

As I thought about things that were morally right or wrong, we left our room and went downstairs. The receptionist said something with slight panic but we did not listen to her. It did not seem that important and she seemed flustered rather than actual panic. 

 

We stood at the central plaza not really knowing where to go. I looked far and around, just seeing things. I saw all of the three main guilds and also saw the thing I believed to be an armory earlier. Overall it didn’t seem like a main plaza, but I had a feeling it was the most important plaza. I mean, the inn-keeper did say trade had been slow lately. So I assume this place used to be a lot more… flooded. 

 

Looking around there wasn’t much, at least armory and equipment wise. I did notice that time had passed, it had been getting darker, or rather the sky was getting orange. It had been a long and eventful day. I noticed that the adventurers’ guild started getting a lot of well… adventurers returning, it started to get flooded on the entrance, as far as everything else in the plaza everything else was normal for the most part.

 

The inns looked a bit different from ours, namely a lot more cheaper. The building looked of lesser quality, so I guess we just so happened to choose the most expensive inn out there. I looked around some more, but there was nothing remarkable. After a sigh of defeat I started walking towards the thing I thought to be a weapon shop/armory. 

 

It had a few adventurers coming in and out of it, so at least it was some kind of business which was slightly reassuring. Jer and Ari tagged along without saying much. After some more walking we entered the fine establishment. Made out of wood and rocks, it seemed to be themed just like an adventurer’s guild.

 

Upon entering I immediately realized the place had quite a deceiving appearance. It was a lot bigger than what it seemed, or rather larger I suppose. I noticed they had a long wall and with weapons mounted on it, some kind of wall-like racks that stood there making little aisles for weapon expositions. They had mazes, swords, short swords, they even had scythes. For everyone I suppose. 

 

I looked around some more and noticed the counter with a tough looking man, he had something that kind of looked like a tattoo of a woman, although I could only assume, since it looked like an unholy shape with curves. He had a lot of scars on his face and a bit of an unshaven beard. 

 

We approached the counter with a bit of shyness seeing the man behind it did not seem to be friendly at all. He finally noticed us and raised his brow with slight confusion.

 

“Do you need something?” He was asking Jer. 

“Um, we were looking for some armor.” I joined into the conversation. 

 

The man placed his hand over his mouth and tried not to laugh. “Just because you admire your dad doesn’t mean you need armor, besides, I don’t think I have armor that fits you.” His tone was one to use for a child. 

 

“Actually, we wanted a replacement for him…” I pointed at Jer. 

 

“I see, so not your daddy eh?” Well… excuse me… “Anyway, don’t get so mad girl. Follow me.” With a wave he turned around and started walking aside from his counter. He did not seem worried about it so I did not mention it. He guided us to some type of back room, it was full of armor stands. 

 

“Anything catches your eye? Armors are really expensive so you cannot see them on the main shop. It’s quite hard to get an armor tailored, so we also offer that service as well.” He began his salesman speech as I inspected the armors closely. They were all mostly full plated with the same silver iron finish. 

 

“Um… do you have something more, um… special?” I asked with hopes.

 

He lifted his brow. “No good, huh? Looks like we got some special clients.” He smiled and got close to a wall that had a lock embedded on the wall. He fondled his shirt and pulled a key, opening a flush door on the wall. 

 

He turned back at us and smiled. “I don’t really hope you people buy it,  but it’s my proud possession. Don’t even try to steal it since it has insurance from the Adventurers’ Guildmaster.” 

 

“”“Ah, that woman…””” We all muttered in unison before looking at the armor. 

 

My eyes widened. 

 

“It’s great right?” He bragged with pride. 

 

There it was, a full set of armor, white like snow with golden accents. It almost seemed like a piece of art, it had a lot of engravings and it shone like a bright star. It seemed to be almost the perfect armor set for anyone, or rather. It was befitting of a holy knight. Holy undead knight… Haa… I like that.  

 

“Is it an item?” I asked with hope.

 

“Oh, little missy knows about such things!” He grinned. “It is an item, one made by one of the best blacksmiths on the whole country, he is renowned. It’s a full set of plate armor made out of mithril. It’s a Flawless tier item!” My smile dropped. “What’s that reaction, is the price too high? I haven’t even mentioned it…” 

 

“I don’t want it…” I said with a stone cold face. 

“B-but, missy!” He was flustered. 

“I don’t want it…” I said with the same coldness. He was taken aback and stood there frozen. 

 

Ari patted me on the back. “I told you such things weren’t normal…”  She then whispered something to Jer, he froze and nodded. 

Jer bowed. “I am sorry for the inconvenience.” 

 

I didn’t realize it but Jer picked me up and carried me outside as Ari followed him. I was thinking as this happened. 

 

Why would it be flawless? Why not legendary?! I mean, I understand what Ari said, but how can you take so much pride in something so… mediocre… No, it’s not that. It’s just that they don’t know any better, it’s the same. The less you know about a topic the more you feel like you know about it, it’s the same thing happening here. Of course, they probably see legendary as the absolute maximum. While I cannot say Flawless would be completely bad, I don’t want my undead knight to be dressed in something like that. I at least want it to be legendary… 

I was seated on a public bench as I thought about it. 

 

Jer looked at me with confusion and Ari had a face of concern. I guess I had overreacted. Before I realized an old man approached. He seemed a bit wealthy, seeing his dress seemed well tailored and well… he was slightly overweight. 

 

“What seems to be the matter, young girl?” 

“Ah, she was looking for armor and didn’t find one the quality she was looking for.” Jer briefly explained to the old man nodded as he listened. He scratched his reflective scalp and tugged a bit on his ashen beard.

 

“That seems slightly troublesome.” He paused. “Has any of you tried the craftsman guild?” I tilted my head. “You could probably commission something there and have it custom made and everything, there are plenty of blacksmiths working in the area.” He took out a pocket watch, something I had never seen before. 

 

He paused. “Looks like I am running late, don’t be so sad girl.” He patted me and left. 

“Um… Yami are you okay?” Ari asked with concern as I shook. 

“To the craftsmen guild we go…” I muttered with hope. 

 

I stood up and made my way to the craftsman guild, that wasn’t too far away from the bench we were on. The building seemed standardized seeing all of the guilds looked the same. I guess it was to avoid confusion. 

 

We made our way inside and as normal, it had two rows. One for merchants or buyers or whatever and one for the blacksmiths. The merchant line seemed oddly clear. The blacksmith one had a few people but they seemed to be waiting for something. They eyed me and then sighed as if I was a disappointment. I couldn’t help  but tilt my head at their hostility. 

 

I approached the counter with confusion. It was empty, I heard some shuffling but couldn’t tell where it was coming from. A few seconds later I heard some more and someone stood up from the counter. It was a male receptionist, he seemed like a hardworking man with moderate muscle although it was unseen for me to see a male receptionist. 

His eyes widened when he saw me. 

 

“A customer?” He asked with slight disbelief. 

“Um… I would like to request a custom made armor…” I muttered with shyness. What followed was silence, and then chaos insued.

“Girly, I will make your armor! I am renowned here!” 

“I can even get it enchanted for you! It will be the best armor you will ever be able to get. Just tell me.”

“I can do it custom made, with engravings and spells!” 

 

People started making offers. 

 

“Um, what kind of armor would you like?” The receptionist asked with a bit of confusion. 

“Well… It has to be mithril.” Half the people dropped their hand. “It has to be enchanted and engraved.” Almost everyone dropped their hand but two people. “And… it has to of at least legendary quality…” Everyone dropped their hand. 

“Girly, that is… unrealis⁠—” 

 

The receptionist was interrupted. 

 

“She is making a mockery out of us!” 

“Just because you are a kid, it doesn’t mean you can disrespect us like that!” 

“You are asking for the impossible!” 

 

Chaos ensued once again. The receptionist dropped his shoulders. 

 

“You see girly, we don’t have any blacksmiths of such caliber.” I regretfully nodded before an idea lit up in my head. 

“May I ask, what happens if a new blacksmith comes. Like, where could they be able to forge?” The receptionist tilted his head with bewilderment and opened his mouth, but before he could utter a single word the blacksmiths started making comments about it. Things like, “Where would you find one?!” all of them were out of frustration. 

 

I saw the receptionist start shaking and a vein pop on his forehead, his face was red. 

 

SMASH! 

 

“Would you people just shut up! Like for a single minute! You guys are like hungry animals! Just because business slowed down doesn’t mean you need to bully a poor innocent girl!” They stayed quiet as the receptionist let all his anger out, then he finally calmed down. 

With a gentle smile he looked at me. “You see, the guild has a public forge, any registered smith can use it and buy metal to work with there. It’s free of charge, provided that you buy our metal to work there.” I see

 

“I⁠—” Ari held my hand and shook her head. Pulling me down to whisper. 

“If you say anything about being a smith they will throw themselves at you and not leave you alone, make things discrete instead…” I gulped hearing Ari’s warning. 

 

I looked at the receptionist. “Can we have a private chat?” He nodded and gestured me to a back room. We stood at the small back room that seemed almost like a cleaning closet. 

 

“Normally this would not be allowed, but seeing you are the first client today it doesn’t matter.” I nodded seeing his carefree attitude.

“I would like to use the public forge!” I requested as I handed him my obsidian tag. His eyes widened and he coughed a bit. Wordlessly taking my tag and inspecting it down to the detail. 

 

“It seems real at least, can I have the craftsman guild identification card?” I gave it to him and then again he carefully inspected it. He sighed. “Everything seems to line up.” 

 

After a decisive sigh, he looked at me. “Very well, there is a private forge for the Guildmaster and Obsidian smiths. I can guide you there on the morning, meet me here.” He said with a resolute voice as he gave my belongings back. 

 

Then his expression softened. “I find it incredible such a young girl like you took something as manly as blacksmithing, I am sure you are an inspiration for many people…” 

 

Yeah… 

 

He wiped a tear on the corner of his eye and opened the door, gesturing us to leave. 

We left the guild without any inconveniences and went back to the inn.